Opening Sequences Evaluation

I
Opening sequences can take the form of:

• A short sequence which flows on to the rest of the film seamlessly.
• A short 'film' in itself which features at least one of the main characters in a previous time / different location to the rest of the film. (e.g. the James Bond films).
• A montage of video and audio with titles on top. (e.g. Se7en).

To be easily recognisable to audiences, opening sequences must have several conventions. The 4 most important conventions (in my opinion) are:

1. Introductions to the characters. These let the audience create their initial impressions of the characters and tell the audience how they should respond to them.
2. An introduction to the context of the narrative. Films will quickly show the audience when and where the story is set. In most films, the audience must work out the context by picking up various clues. In a few films, this is explicitly established with a simple subtitle.
3. Opening titles / credit sequences. These will tell the audience who stars in it, who directs, who else worked on the project and the title of the film. The first two of these help the audience gain information about the film (as I talk about more in III).
4. A soundtrack relevant to the plot / genre of the film. These anchor the genre of the film; a comedy is likely to have fast-paced, upbeat, pop music for example whereas a horror movie will probably use tension-building music.
   

II
As opening sequences are part of the narrative structure, they also have various narrative functions:

• Establish the initial equilibrium (according to Todorov's theory) and sometimes show the disruption.
• Show the audience who the main protagonist and often hint at what their journey will be (according to Propp's theory).
• Initially get the audience's attention so that they want to keep watching the film to find out more.

III
From watching an opening sequence, an audience member can gain multiple things:

• Institutional information about the film from the opening title sequence / who is credited.
• Information about the genre of the film; this information comes from all the signifiers in the film and what they signify, and sometimes by who helped with the production of the film (e.g. if the opening sequence says it was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the audience will assume it is a thriller).
• Information about the film's themes and some of the narrative. (as mentioned before).

IV
An opening sequence is also important for film-makers as they gain the audience's attention. The audience's interest (which is gained from reasons mentioned previously) is very important for making a profit by getting the audience to spread the film via word-of-mouth and getting more people to watch the film.

Barthes' Theory on Narrative Structure (Peeping Tom)

Barthes' theory says that text can be broken down and grouped by 5 different codes; the Enigma Code; the Action Code; the Semiotic Code; the Cultural Code; and the Symbolic Code. The most important of these to me and my coursework are the Enigma or Hermeneutic Code and the Action or Proairectic Code which I will apply to the opening of Peeping Tom below:

Examples of the Enigma Code:

• The majority of the opening sequence is shot from the killer's Point of View so we don't know who he is or what he looks like.
• This opening does not really establish the context of the film or setting, the audience only gathers that it's set in England because of the dialogue.
• The motive for killing the prostitute is not known by the audience at the beginning of the film (although we find out later on).
• The physical location is very dark so it remains a mystery where exactly this is and what else is in the location.

Examples of the Action Code:

• Man starts filming with a camera in his jacket.
• Man approaches prostitute who offers him her services.
• She leads him down a dark alley and into a building.
• They go up a flight of stares and into a bedroom.
• He takes out a (unseen) weapon and approaches her.
• She screams and he continues to film her reaction.

Levi-Strauss' Theory on Narrative Structure (Pale Rider and Die Hard)

Levi-Strauss' theory of story elements being organised into binary opposites seems to apply to the beginning (and presumably rest) of these 2 films even though they are very different in several ways.

Pale Rider:

• Quiet nature VS Loud horse riders
• Slow-paced town life VS Galloping riders
• Brightly lit town VS Dark rider silhouettes
• Constructing with wood VS Home destruction
• Slow establishing pans VS Action whip pans
• Locals' innocence VS Riders' violence
• Lone man VS Gang of riders
• Calm fighter VS Angry gang
• White horse VS Brown horses
• Relaxing music VS Disruptive galloping
• Passive town VS Active riders
• Bucket of water VS Match on fire
• Looking for gold VS Having money
• Survival VS Death of dog / cow
• Hope of miracle VS Aggressor's attack
• Mysterious spirit VS Normality
• Certainty VS Doubtfulness
• Youth VS Age
• Femininity VS Masculinity

Die Hard:

• Romance VS Loneliness
• Office Worker VS Cop
• California VS New York
• Wife VS Husband
• Party VS Dark truck
• Guard VS Criminals
• Security VS Hacking
• Happiness VS Sadness
• Safety VS Danger
• Togetherness VS Separation
• Classical music VS Suspenseful music
• Victims VS Villains
• Life VS Death
• Preparation VS Unprepared
• Peace VS Violence
• Home life VS Work life
• Experience VS Novice
• Elevated VS Underground

Preliminary Exercise Evaluation

One
 

My group consisted of myself, India, Sheera and Tom P. Throughout the task, I feel as though we distributed the work evenly between ourselves. During the planning stage, the whole group came up with a general idea; I and Tom worked on the script; India and Sheera worked on the storyboard; and the whole group worked out the schedule together.

When we were shooting, Tom and I acted whilst Sheera and India took the roles of director / camera operator and sound operator / production assistant alternatively but we all got to direct and film at least one shot during the shoot. Whilst we were editing the sequence, we made sure that the workload was divided up equally apart from the titles, where India made them because she had not got a chance to do so before.
  

Two

To plan the sequence, we initially had 2 group meetings; in a lesson and at lunchtime. There we came up with the main idea, scripted it, had us walk through it or act it out to see if it would work, storyboarded it onto paper and made shot list / shooting schedule from that. Whilst scripting, we briefly thought about narrative theory to ensure that our sequence had a beginning, a middle, and an end (Tom enters, conversation, Tom gets upset - "Darn!"). 
  

Storyboard, script and shooting schedule are below:

Whilst storyboarding, we considered a lot of theory based on the rules of continuity. As outlined in the task, we made sure our sequence demonstrated match - on action (passing the book, opening the door), contained a shot / reverse shot (the conversation from 0:13 to 0:15) and followed the 180° rule throughout. As well as these, we also included:

• Just cut transitions during the sequence to construct a sense of flow.
• The 30° rule so that the sequence didn't have any 'jumps' in it.
• Use of shot order was used at the beginning, from the establishing mid - shot to the hand's close up to create a sense of steady pace.

Three
  

Our group used 2 types of technology; hardware and software. During the shoot, we used lots of hardware; Canon Mini DV camcorder, a tripod, a shotgun microphone, headphones and a clapperboard. The director / camera operator would film the entire sequence with camera mounted on the tripod. The production assistant / sound operator would hold up the clapperboard so that finding shots would be easier in editing before listening to the sound being picked up by the shotgun microphone to hear if the dialogue was loud enough / if there was any background noise.
  

In post - production we used a PC and speakers to edit our clip as well as the non - linear, timeline based editing software Adobe Premiere Pro CS3. This software has a range of tools which we used to edit our recorded clips into a sequence, these are the 5 most important tools:

1. The Razor tool to cut clips into separate ones.
2. The Slider tool to choose the length of clips.
3. The Audio / Video Linking tool to delete audio in places where it wasn't needed and to ensure we didn’t un – sync anything during editing.
4. The Default Title Maker to create the opening title.
5. Effect Presets to create the fade in and out in the finished sequence.

Four
  

Throughout the project we had to consider a lot of things, most of which became factors for us during the planning. Time was a factor because we only had 1 hour to plan, 1 hour to shoot and 1 hour to edit we decided that our sequence had to be short and simple so that we could film it and edit it with time to spare. Location was also taken into account a lot as we had to shoot somewhere without too much background noise; somewhere with reasonable lighting as we didn't have enough people to include somebody to light up a dark room; and somewhere with the props of door, table and chairs which we needed to include in our sequence. 
  

During planning we decided that setting roles based on ability would save time and produce a better quality result, for example me and Tom were worse at drawing a storyboard and so wrote the script instead. As we wanted to learn some techniques that we didn't know how to do or to revise those which we were worse at, we shot with experience as a factor by giving roles to people who hadn't done them as much before (as I mentioned about India working on the titles in One).
  

Another factor for us, although it was mostly due to common sense was the practicality of what we were going to shoot and what we wanted our final sequence to look like. This is because we were going to be limited by our other factors, for example our final sequence couldn't be longer than an hour because we only had 1 hour to shoot it in. The editing software limitations were also a small factor as we couldn't add complicated effects, e.g. CGI, although we wouldn't have wanted to do that anyway.
 

Five
  

Relating to the original brief, I think our sequence was quite successful:

• We made a sequence with all of the actions mentioned; character opening a door, crossing a room, sitting in a chair opposite another character, exchanging lines of dialogue.
• Our sequence demonstrated use of the shot / reverse shot technique during the conversation to show the characters' expressions whilst talking.
• We stuck to the 180° rule throughout the sequence to ensure it looked 'right' and that the characters didn't appear to swap places.
• The beginning of our sequence demonstrated match - on action, especially when Tom opened the door and entered where the cuts seems very seamless.

Our sequence was slightly successful in a few other areas; the location and Tom's character are well - established with the shot of him walking down the corridor and into the room, the 2 pans looked mostly smooth and not too 'jerky', the master shot shows the room and where the characters are within the room effectively, the master shot at the end also adds something to remind the audience of the location and to add a sense of consistency, most of the cuts seem very natural and are easy to miss especially the cutaway to the door handle at the start of the sequence, we did not break the 30° rule by using a variety of shot types, high angle MS, two - shots, etc.

After watching my sequence, I can clearly that it is not perfect and that it has several areas for improvement. With hindsight, these are the 3 things I would most like to do differently:

1. Film the sequence in exactly the same way from each different camera set - up to eliminate continuity errors (such as the cut from 0:20 to 0:21 when the way my character holds the books changes).
2. Film the entire sequence even if we think we won't use it in the final edited sequence, if we had done this we would have had more options during editing about which angles we wanted to use in our sequence and could have chosen more cutting points between shots.
3. Add an introduction to my character; whilst Tom's character is introduced fairly well, the audience does not get an opportunity to understand my character or his motivation.

Six

By completing this task, I feel as though I have learnt a lot. Most of this new knowledge can be applied to the rest of my coursework.

Before completing this project I learnt some useful techniques, theory and terminology. The theory of continuity was important because some rules of it were mentioned in the brief but also because we had to use other aspects of it in our project, such as the 30° rule which I did not know about previously. I was not fully aware of camera setups and the 'dialogue' used by the director, camera operator, etc. 

I have learnt that the planning stage of a project is incredibly important, especially walking through the sequence and storyboarding it. Walking through will immediately indicate any problems with unnatural dialogue or movement that doesn't work in the sequence whilst storyboarding visually displays what the final sequence is meant to look like and make any problems with it become clear to see and change.

Whilst we were shooting, I learnt that it's essential to film the entire sequence from start to finish at each setup to give more freedom in editing at a later stage. I also learnt that you should always shoot by the location of the camera setups as opposed to chronologically in the storyboard. This didn't really apply to our group but when different setups are in very different and distant locations, it is both easier to do it this way and would be cheaper on an actual media production.

During the editing session, I revised a lot of techniques we learnt a year ago and only really learnt about continuity editing. I learnt a lot about how precise editing has to be to make a sequence look continuous, so precisely that we often had to edit within a couple of frames. After we had finished editing our shots together, we learnt how to export the sequence into a single video file in Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 and upload it to Blogger.

In summary, I really enjoyed this preliminary exercise and I personally feel as though it has taught me a significant amount of information that will be crucial in producing the final sequence and completing my coursework.

Propp's Theory on Narrative Structure (Mean Girls)

In this film, we can apply most of Propp's Character Types to this film:
1. The ‘Villain’ is Regina (leader of the Plastics).
2. The ‘Donors’ are Janis and Damien (social outcasts who teach Cady about the school’s system).
3. The ‘Helpers’ again are Janis and Damien (who help the hero develop a plan against the Plastics).
4. The closest person to a ‘Princess’ is Aaron (Regina’s ex – boyfriend and Cady’s crush).
5. The ‘Princess’ Father’ doesn’t apply to this narrative.
6. The ‘Dispatcher’ would probably be Janis (who wants Cady in the Plastics for what Regina did).
7. The ‘Hero’ is Cady in this film.
8. The ‘Usurper’ does not apply here as far as I am aware.

Some of Propp's 31 Functions also apply to Mean Girls although it is not is a very good theory (as I will go on to talk about later):

• Villain tries to meet hero; Regina and the Plastics ask Cady to have lunch with them.
• Member of hero's family desires "the lack"; Janis desires to have to "Burn Book" to get revenge on Regina.
• Hero discovers the lack; Cady finds out about the "Burn Book".
• Hero leaves home; Cady leaves her friends to infiltraete the Plastics.
• Location shifts to the place where the lack is to be found; Cady joins the Plastics.
• Hero and villain in direct combat; Cady attempts to bring down the Plastics throughout the film.
• Villain defeated; Cady gets revenge on Regina by making her eat high - calorie bars to gain weight.
• Initial lack liquidated; Cady gets to the "Burn Book" and writes a rumour in it.
• Unrecognised, the hero arrives home; Cady returns to Janis and Damien, still as a Plastic.
• Difficult task is set; Cady has to join her friends again.
• Task resolved by the hero; Cady gives her friends the Prom Queen crown.
• True hero recognised; Janis and Damien like Cady again.
• Villain is punished; Plastics disperse apart.

Clearly, Propp's theory is flawed in several ways.

• In my opinion, it is too vague; his theory says that there are several things that can happen in films, this can be very vague, e.g. the "hero" is just the main character of the film in this theory and every film will have some form of problem.
• Propp's theory does not consider the ways in which characters can change their story with dialogue, etc.
• This theory is also outdated I think; this was based on old Russian folk stories, since then films have changed for several reasons and can have very different narratives.
• His theory is very gender bias; the hero is a man looking to find a princess in his theory. Today, many protagonists are female in films such as this one.

(Please note, I have not seen 'Mean Girls' and have written this theory application based on various plot summaries on the internet which may not be reliable)

Todorov's Theory on Narrative Structure (The Blues Brothers)

In this sequence, we meet our 2 protagonists, Jake and Elwood Blues. Both are performers who sing and dance throughout the musical film (as Saturday Night Live fans will know). We know that Jake is a criminal being let out of prison on parole. We don’t as much about Elwood apart from his relation to Jake.

From this opening sequence, we can work out that the equilibrium is that Jake is trying not to break the law anymore (“…good behaviour” at 3:47) in the state of Illinois (Sign at 1:34) with the help of his brother Elwood. The audience becomes aware of how closely there are related as brothers in 2 main ways; their appearance is very similar (the suits, the hats, the sunglasses and the CUs of names on their fingers at 4:06 and 4:49), at the end of the sequence they also hug each other to anchor the fact that these 2 are going to be together for the rest of the film.

The sequence does not hint at what the disequilibrium will be or what the hero’s journey will be apart from the fact that it will probably involve them running from the law.

From my knowledge of the film, I do know what happens outside of this sequence and how it can be applied to Todorov’s theory:

• The original disequilibrium is that both protagonists are out of prison, not breaking any laws (yet) by themselves. The Blues Brothers Band has split up since Jake was in prison.
• The disequilibrium arises about 5 minutes later into the film when they discover that their old orphanage is going to be closed unless it pays $5000 to the Cook County's in 11 days. However, as the orphanage is run by a nun, they are forbidden to collect the money illegally.
• Both brothers go on a journey to reunite the band together so that they can perform a revue to raise the money. During this, they manage to make several enemies; Illinois Nazis, a country Western band and every police force / SWAT team / military group / Illinois Guardsmen who come after them in the finale.
• At the end, the Blues Brothers and their band are thrown into Joliet Correctional Centre with the orphanage still open and running.

Continuity Film Sequence Analysis (American Psycho)

This sequence starts with a slow panning medium – long shot which establishes that the scene is inside Bateman’s (played by Bale) office during the day as he is listening to his music privately. Next we are introduced to a woman (Bateman’s secretary, Jean) who walks into his office and begins a conversation with him. This is a very short conversation with just three shot types; the master two – shot of both characters and two mid – close – up shots of Bateman and Jean each. The cut from MCU of Jean to the MCU of Bateman appears very seamless as it follows the 180 Degree rule, definitely doesn’t break the 30 Degree rule as these shots are very different and is a single reverse – shot to show the character’s expressions signifying the relevance of their dialogue.

After Jean goes to get Detective Kimball (Dafoe) and leaves, Bateman has a fake conversation on the phone. During this, the camera cuts between MCUs from Bateman to Kimball and back to Bateman. Although there is no dialogue, this shot – reverse – shot is used to show the impression that each character gets of each other. After Bateman hangs up, the camera zooms out to a mid – shot so that this conversation is no longer “anything important”. Suddenly this cuts to close – up shot – reverse – shots for shock value and to put the audience directly in the action (and to represent Bateman’s state of mind, but this isn’t important in this analysis of continuity).

When Detective Kimball starts to discuss Paul Allen’s disappearance, Bateman starts to change the subject (because Bateman killed him) by calling Jean to bring Kimball a glass of water. When Jean does come in, Bateman grabs a coaster in a long shot and places underneath the glass before she puts it down in a CU. This match on action appears very smooth as the first shot ends where the second shot begins. The reason this shot was done however was to bring the audience’s attention to coaster (because we learn that Bateman is very cautious towards his belongings, in this case, the desk’s surface).

The conversation resumes again when Jean leaves and there are several POV and Over – The – Shoulder, MS, Shot – Reverse – Shots of the opposite person as they discuss Bateman’s details. When Bateman is complimented by Kimball; “Nice, very nice.” it cuts to a CU of Bateman’s reaction to break up the continuity a bit on purpose. Conversation resumes in mid – shots before cutting from MS to MCU to CU gradually. This shot order keeps the continuous appearance for the line “Do you feel like that?” suggesting it’s importance. This technique is done again with other important quotes later on in the sequence; the most important being: “It’s just strange. One day, someone’s walking around, going to work, alive and…” At the end Bateman and Kimball get up, Kimball leaves and Bateman shuts the door, resting on it in just 2 shots to slow down the pace rapidly giving the audience (and Bateman) a chance to ponder the conversation.

(Please note, this analysis only applies to only the first 5 minutes, 32 seconds of the sequence)

Continuity Filming Test Shoot

I think that the purpose of the practical was to see if we knew the basics of continuity in film and if we could produce something that makes logical sense with several restrictions. We had very little time to 'script', storyboard and film the sequence with no chance to edit or review it during the shoot. We also had to include a range of shot types to make it interesting whilst also paying attention to everything so that it seemed continuous.

In my opinion, the finished sequence worked to an extent although with hindsight, a lot would be changed. The things I do like about this sequence are:

• The esthablishing shot works well at showing the location (outside, in a school playground) clearly.
• There are a variety of shot types; Long Shot, Mid - Shot, Mid - Close - Up, Over - The Shoulder.
• The camera movement was smooth in the first shot (the pan) and doesn't jerk around too much.
• These shot types are continuous; they flow between similar shot types instead of jumping directly from a Long - Shot to an Extreme - Close - Up.
• The narrative is simple and easy for a viewer to follow: girl walking, girl's friend distracts her, girl walks into a pole.
• The framing is good in the shots, most of the cut-off points remain the same in the shots, including those with camera or character movement.
• We kept to the 180 - Degree rule by staying on one side of the action so that the perspective didn't become too confusing.span>

Watching the sequence back I do see several areas for improvement, some could have been changed with hindsight, other would have to be done in editing:

• It's too fast, despite the simple narrative, this sequence moves so quickly that most viewers may not be able to follow the action clearly enough.
• In the second shot, the camera moves too much, this tracking crab is hard to do, we could have probably done with more practice doing it until it was smooth or found another way to make it smooth, e.g. something with wheels to push it on.
• The backgrounds are very busy and distracting, we could have tried to choose a better place to film this sequence as the background has too much going on in it. For example, the 4th shot has a game of netball in the background.
• The match on action isn't perfect, every time we stopped filming, we had to tell the actors to go back to where we thought they were when we stopped recording. This created several visible jumps for the characters in each shot, especially in from the 5th to 6th shots when they stop moving before walking into the pole.
• The sound is bad, this would have to be done in post - production, but the sound changes too much for each shot. Personally I would either want to do this on a day without wind or making a sound bridge and place it over the sequence.
• Some of the initial shots break the 30 - Degree rule because they appear so similar to each other, it looks like a jump or a glitch.

By doing this activity, I have learnt a lot about the importance of on-screen continuity and the attention to detail that filmmakers have to have. I now also know that sequences need to be made very clear, well esthablished and paced so that a viewer can follow it's narrative. Without these techniques being used, most films probably wouldn't make as much sense.

Opening Sequences Comparison (Legally Blonde and Se7en)

Legally Blonde and Se7en are very different films. Legally Blonde is a happy, bright comedy aimed at teenagers and starring Reese Witherspoon. Se7en is a dark, gritty police / crime drama thriller starring the serious Morgan Freeman. As a result of these differences in genre, narrative plot and characters; these films have extremely different opening sequences. Let's see how they're different and why...

Narrative Information & Expectations

• Legally Blonde has 2 different narratives in the opening sequence; a good luck card being passed between several teenage girls whilst they sign it for somebody called "Elle" ( who we later find out is the girl getting ready ), and another blonde teenage girl getting prepared for an event. Both of these narratives merge when the good luck card is given to the girl getting ready. From my previous experience of films, the good luck card suggests that something bad's going to happen at this event.
• Se7en's opening sequence focuses on one narrative with one main character and one supporting characters. The first shots show an old man ( who we discover to be Detective Somerset ) getting ready for work. We then discover that he is a detective as he works at a crime scene, trying to answer questions when another younger detective ( Mills ) arrives late chewing gum. About 3 minutes into the film Somerset says "...over the next seven days..." which is a good example of foreshadowing, highly suggesting that something is going to happen over the next seven days.
• Although these films are extremely different, both of these opening sequences clearly esthablish who is / are the main character(s) of the film and give some subtle suggestion of what we can expect from the storyline as a whole and what roles the characters will probably play.

Character Descriptions & Types

• Legally Blonde is clearly going to focus around a caucasian, blonde girl called Elle, from the opening sequence, we get several ( literal ) signs that she is popular e.g. "Homecoming Queen" and "President...". Her room has many branded products such as "Prada" which all connotate that she is wealthy. From many stereotypes in media and the fact they actually put "blonde" in the title, the audience assumes that she's going to be a little bit stupid although the word "legally" may prove us wrong.
• Other stereotypes we see include: the violent, topless frat boys who cheer at passing girls; more teenage girls getting ready for other events by exercising, applying make-up and overusing hairspray. We also catch a glimpse of Warner ( Elle's boyfriend ) who Elle might be going out on a date with, which would explain the good luck card however I still highly doubt all will go to plan.
• Se7en seems to revolve around Detective Somerset, a very thorough and somewhat strict, old man who lives his life in a slow, methodical way. For example, we see him align his possessions neatly and picks them up in a specific order. He asks seemingly pointless questions because he wants to know everything there is to know although I feel as though this is because he firmly believes in true justice. The fact that he falls asleep to a metronome makes him seem even more precise in his life and why I think this is a highly experienced and talented detective.
• Detective Mills is almost the opposite to Somerset. He's young, inexperienced to crimes ( in this area ) and somewhat carefree in what he does e.g. arrive late to the crime scene, chew gum, talk back to Somerset. Although he comes across as rude, I think he does have good intentions, it's just going to take Somerset and Mills a week to see eye to eye.

Shot Types / Camera Techniques / On-Screen Effects

Both of these films use similar techniques and tactics but when combined with the films' content, they create very different effects overall:

• Se7en and Legally Blonde use close - up montage shots. Se7en fades these shots together in a very complicated montage which makes the viewer feel slightly sick to see this distorted film of mutaliated body parts, details being analysed, money being cut up and the same picture being merged with the same picture whilst never revealing who the villain is doing all this because of the close framing. Legally Blonde is much more clear and comprehensible although this montage of a girl getting prepared is broken up with the other narrative ( the card ). We see hair being brushed, nails being painted, legs being shaved in a very simple way as the credits write themselves onto the screen.
• Both of these films' opening sequences use music and titles to help create mood. During Se7en's distorted montage of forensic evidence and more, the viewer gets to hear a distorted soundtrack as well, breaking up, making inunderstandable screeches and noises to make it feel even more uncomfortable to watch. The shaking titles, shaking and moving around the frame further add to the effect. Another way in which this is effective is that the music score and credits and footage syncronise together so that they seem like one experience in distraction. Legally Blonde is again much more basic; "Perfect Day" plays throughout the entire opening sequence ( again with connatations of disaster ) as the pink titles in a hand-drawn typeface wipe into the frame. Although the music doesn't sync up with the video as well in my opinion it does anchor the overall mood of happiness in the footage quite well.
• Legally Blonde and Se7en using lighting and colour to anchor the narrative mood. Legally Blonde is very bright with a lot of high-key natural lighting, this symbolises everybody's joy and happiness with plenty of connatations of good ( as opposed to evil ). Use of the colour pink is used a lot too in this opening sequence, paticularily in Elle's bedroom to help confirm to the viewer that this is a 'chick flick' and that she is a stereotypical, movie, teenage girl. Se7en is very low-key; it can be fairly hard to make out much in this opening sequence, paticularily at the crime scene to symbolise the evil and darkness and unseen fear in this place. Although this isn't a black and white film, the colour saturation is also very low to further anchor the fact that this isn't a paticularily happy or friendly place ( more homicides to come? ).

Test Horror Still Shoot

After our group spent roughly 30 minutes taking over 30 photos, I photographed this:

Description 

• Tilted Frame to create a sense of distortion and make the viewer feel uneasy whilst the knife is more level in the frame to make the villain seem in control. 
• Low Angle to make the viewer feel more powerless and make the villain seem more dominant.
• Mid Close - Up so that the viewer can't see much of the villain (apart from a glove and part of a black jacket) leaving them unsure about who it could be. 
• Low - Key Lighting so that viewer feels insecure and wondering about what is in the darkness. 
• Shaft Of Light On The Blade so that it's clear that it is the focal point and that it is important to the narrative. 
• Black Glove And Jacket for connations of darkness and evil whilst it covers any features which could reveal who the villain is or what they look like. 
• Blood On The Knife suggests that somebody has just been killed and this is the middle of a killing spree. 
• Holding The Knife, Primed To Stab so that the viewer has narrative expectations of somebody being killed. 
• Located In Front Of A Door At The Top Of A Staircase suggests that this is a chase perhaps and / or that the next victim is just behind the door. This is also a fairly familar location so that it frightens the viewer more by making them feel as though they could be invaded in this way.

Achieving The Shot / Effect

To achieve the effect, we went to a small room which could be locked and took several pictures. However, because this room was so dark I decided to open the door to let in some natural light, acting as a key light. Next, I lowered the tripod to less than 50cm to make it a low angle shot. Then, I tilted the tripod's head clockwise to make it a tilted frame. Subsequently, I asked my model to pose so that the knife was tilted clockwise to match the camera so that it would enhance the sense of distortion I mentioned earlier. After, I asked the light director to shine a narrow shaft of light onto the knife to make it stand out a lot more as the focal point of the shot.
 

Successful Points

• The blade is clearly the focus of the shot and stands out a lot more than anything else.
• The tilting of the camera and knife created the sense of distortion I was aiming for.
• It is impossible to see any part of the model apart from their clothes for the uncertainity I wanted.

What I Would Do Differently In Hindsight

• This picture is definetly underexposed so I'd like to take this shot in a lighter room or with an additional light source. 
• I would try to get the knife to be 100% vertical in the frame although that would be quite hard to get perfectly right. 
• I'd also like the background to be a lot further away from the camera so that it's more clear as a door at the top of a staircase.
• I think that the knife could also be slightly closer to the camera to see the details of the blade and blood for an added fear factor.